1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to storage containers and is specifically directed to a pill container with a lockable feature and related methods.
2. Related Art
For persons who need to take medicine regularly, the need for a pill container that can be easily carried is highly important. A pill container that is easy to use, has sufficient capacity for the patient's needs, and which can be conveniently carried by the user increases the likelihood that the user will take the correct medicine at the correct time.
Some pill containers are provided with child restraints in the form of locking mechanisms. It is important that a child restraint locking mechanism is durable and that it provide a reliable restraint against children inadvertently opening the pill container. On the other hand, the child restraint should not present increased difficulties for people with, for example, limited ability to use the pill container. That is, pill containers that include minute controls for child restraint and/or lids that must be gripped with fingertips to open often present increased handling difficulties for people suffering from, for example, rheumatism or arthritis. Many patients who responsibly keep their pill container away from children may prefer that the child restraint be removed, enabling the device to be accessed more easily.
In many pill containers, the user opens a lid, cover or equivalent structure to access a compartment that contains the medicine that is about to be taken. Because the opening of the compartment is typically so small that the patient cannot conveniently take out the medicine tablets with one or two fingers, or at least cannot do so without destroying one or more of the medicine tablets, the patient may cup his or her hand over the opening of the compartment and turn the medicine storage device upside down, hoping to catch the medicine tablets in the cupped hand.
Known pill containers also frequently include multiple storage compartments with each compartment corresponding to a different day of the week. It is also common to put symbols or numbers written in Braille on the medicine storage device to aid a visually impaired patient in taking his or her medicine on the right day.